MacDara Conroyhttp://macdaraconroy.com
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 17:11:43 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.1http://macdaraconroy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cropped-macdara2017icon-32x32.pngMacDara Conroyhttp://macdaraconroy.com
3232My Thumped review of Star Wars: The Last Jedihttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/my-thumped-review-of-star-wars-the-last-jedi/
Tue, 12 Dec 2017 18:16:43 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13964My Thumped review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Hold those other, glowing reviews you’re bound to see with suspicion, as the latest entry in the Star Wars saga is a middling dud. Maybe if some people could step outside their fandom bubble for a minute…
]]>Dublin Inquirer: Luas Cross City augurs change in Broombridgehttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/dublin-inquirer-luas-cross-city-augurs-change-in-broombridge/
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 18:34:39 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13949Luas Cross City augurs change in Broombridge
From last year, about a year after we moved to Dundalk and my commute, whether by rail or bicycle along the canal, no longer took me past the least loved station in the Irish Rail network. I’ve been wondering about the security situation at a station that had no Leap card readers for months due to vandalism. (Oh, and there was that time some scumbag bricked a train window we were sitting next to. The area itself isn’t that rough, though.)
]]>The Guardian on Kremlin ‘propaganda channel’ RThttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/the-guardian-on-kremlin-propaganda-channel-rt/
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 18:33:29 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=1394724-hour Putin people: my week watching Kremlin ‘propaganda channel’ RT
“More than outright lies, RT deals in moral equivalency. Its defenders don’t deny bias; they deny the possibility of objectivity. They say western media is equally biased. They liken RT to state broadcasters such as the BBC, France 24 and al Jazeera. They say other news channels have been sanctioned by Ofcom. It’s a triumph of cynicism: we’re all just as bad as each other.” The difference is, those other channels don’t make disinformation, in bad faith, their raison d’être. Speaking of bad faith, The Atlantic was recently moved to do an explainer on a concept — lying, basically — that’s pretty self-evident.
]]>Adam Savage cuts a record at Third Manhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/adam-savage-cuts-a-record-at-third-man/
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 10:44:12 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13942

Adam Savage geeks out as he cuts a record at Jack White’s Third Man headquarters in Detroit. Whatever your opinion on Black, one can’t doubt he’s a genuine nerd about the craft of recorded music.

]]>The Outline: Why are there so many knobs in GarageBand?http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/the-outline-why-are-there-so-many-knobs-in-garageband/
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 10:43:15 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13940Why are there so many knobs in GarageBand?
“…now that a generation of musicians has been raised on GarageBand and iPads, does it really make sense to cover a piece of software in wood paneling?”
]]>A list of iOS games worth playinghttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/a-list-of-ios-games-worth-playing/
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 10:42:32 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13938A list of iOS games worth playing
It’s an individual’s subjective selection, of course, but better to start here than get lost in the App Store.
]]>My Letterboxd reviews for November 2017http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/my-letterboxd-reviews-for-november-2017/
Tue, 05 Dec 2017 10:05:50 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13923

Another few weeks of genre-hopping, thanks to a free month of Shudder that I ended up letting lapse as I couldn’t find much of anything I wanted to watch. So it goes.

But it was also a month that included one of my favourite films of the year. Shame it bypassed cinemas and went straight to Netflix. The new straight to video? I sure hope not.

Obviously Netflix is better than that, but there is a clear sense that it serves serialised ‘prestige’ TV much better than first-run feature films. And I get the feeling even Netflix’s honchos recognise this, going by all the promos I’m seeing for Bright (which isn’t out till the end of this month).

Seen with part two (which I won’t bother adding here, since they only make a single 90-minute feature watched back-to-back) on Shudder, while I’ve got a free month. Technically this predates the Jake West video nasties docs by a number of years, but covers much of the same ground, so is quite inessential if you’ve seen the others but for having a bit more background on the James Bulger trial – and the inconvenient fact that violent horror movies had practically nothing to do with the case itself, and were solely part of the media fervour around it.

Inspired moments are fleeting in this poor-man’s conclusion (or is it?) to the rambling Phantasm saga. From the shoddy direction and cheap visuals down to the dodgy word-salad script, it’s squarely in the realm of YouTube fan film rather than commercial feature. And on the low end at that.

Only those familiar with the Child’s Play franchise need apply, and even then they must prepare themselves for a film with a rollercoaster tone and, at best, Syfy movie production standards. Apart from the practical effects, that is, which reflect a growing but distasteful trend for verisimilitude in head destruction. But it’s got a good lead in Fiona Dourif, daughter of Chucky’s voice Brad; reprising her role from Curse of Chucky as the paraplegic Nica, she gets to show a lot more range this time out. (As an aside, I watched the Netflix version which is missing the end credits scene indicated in the Wikipedia entry.)

Expectedly hagiographic (tip-toeing around his obvious chronic alcoholism, and those stories of him getting his dick out aren’t quite the jovial hijinks they’re purported to be) but how often do you get a mainstream documentary treating a subject like wrestling on its own terms? I can think of only one other.

What a weird little film, shot like an episode of Quincy but off-kilter enough in its 1970s paranoia plot and oddball performances (particularly from the lead Zalman King, later of Red Shoe Diaries infamy, who’s barely a hair above Tommy Wiseau here) to stick in the back of the mind.

Where to start with Mayhem? Let’s list the cons. It’s Yet Another Viral Outbreak Movie, for one. It’s Yet Another Workplace Satire, too. The cast of Serbs and antipodeans give up trying to hide their real accents as the plot’s literal clock runs out. The synth-driven faux-retro soundtrack is just like every other neo-exploitation flick you’ve seen in the last few years. ‘Derivative’ is the word that springs to mind.

But it works in spite of all of that. It’s smart enough to add a new twist to the zombie virus trope (there is a cure, it just takes a few hours to work) and it’s one that ups the stakes for what’s pretty much a let’s-play of a live-action ultraviolent sandbox game, played to a score courtesy of Steve Moore, who’s being doing this kind of thing with Zombi for years.

And those bad accents only add to its ludicrous charm, which is what really sets it apart from the likes of the similarly plotted but mean-spirited The Belko Experiment: it’s out to please the crowds, not ick them out. Does it go for the cheap pop? Sure it does. Did I still enjoy watching it? You betcha.

Of all the Netflix acquisitions thus far, this is the one most sorely missing that cinema experience, with nighttime vistas and adrenaline-pumping scenes that would spark on the big screen. In any case, it’s quite simply a tour de force by Frank Grillo as the titular driver, double-crossed by his paymasters and racing the streets of Boston, and against time, to save his family. A tired old plot, to be sure, but with a breathtakingly fresh spin by writer/director Jeremy Rush in his first feature, as the camera never leaves the lead or his ride aside. One of the finest movies of the year, let alone among action thrillers.

]]>Monthnotes for November 2017http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/monthnotes-for-november-2017/
Sun, 03 Dec 2017 12:47:08 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13897November was a bullet-point kind of month:

Enlarged Heart Radio has been revived for the winter, with two shows this past month, numbers 20 and 21. I’ll probably have another one up before Xmas, provided my weekends aren’t too hectic.

I saw and reviewed Battle of the Sexes and Suburbicon for Thumped. I also attended screenings for three 2018 releases (or they are on this side of the Atlantic, anyway). My notes on those are just that at this stage, but expect my thoughts in the new year.

Did my accounts (I keep things fairly simple) and paid/filed my income tax. I even got a small rebate: the first time that’s ever happened. I guess last year’s USC reductions made a difference after all.

Another music feature pitch of mine was accepted, so I’m working on that at the moment. Don’t expect the finished thing till February or March, mind you.

I bussed it to Newry when the exchange rate was at its best (it’s still decent, but hey) and, among other things, I bought a rice cooker. Reader, I think it’s changed our lives. I’m not even joking! You know, I may have a longer post on this.

That’s about the long and the short of it. Roll on my end-of-year break* from mid December.

* When you work freelance, even partly, you’re never truly on a break. ↩

]]>Isao Takahata on The Tale Of The Princess Kaguyahttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/isao-takahata-on-the-tale-of-the-princess-kaguya/
Sun, 03 Dec 2017 10:11:20 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13894Isao Takahata on The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya
An interview with the other half of Studio Ghibli, about his most recent film, a beautiful and heartbreaking masterpiece which is definitely one of my favourites of the decade. And from a director who so matter-of-factly states: “I don’t really draw myself, I’m not an artist.”
]]>A few technical words about Upsideclown, and some thoughts about audiences and the webhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/12/a-few-technical-words-about-upsideclown-and-some-thoughts-about-audiences-and-the-web/
Sun, 03 Dec 2017 10:10:39 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13892A few technical words about Upsideclown, and some thoughts about audiences and the web
Matt Webb on the return of his communal short fiction blog, and how it fits on the internet today: “It seems to me that, sometime in the last 17 years, the web forgot the simple pleasure of making, and appreciating what’s made, together.” (Cynical old me thinks that’s because ‘the web’ isn’t a thing anymore; it’s all smartphones and social media and clickbait and humanity’s worst tendencies laid bare. Sigh.)
]]>Enlarged Heart Radio 21http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/enlarged-heart-radio-21/
http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/enlarged-heart-radio-21/#commentsSun, 26 Nov 2017 16:20:23 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13854Warp / NoMeansNo – Metronome / […]]]>

]]>http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/enlarged-heart-radio-21/feed/1How Japan’s Landscape Inspired a New Kind of Electronic Musichttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/how-japans-landscape-inspired-a-new-kind-of-electronic-music/
Sun, 26 Nov 2017 16:18:09 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13852How Japan’s Landscape Inspired a New Kind of Electronic Music
I will never not be impressed by the sheer variety and freedom in the Japanese cultural approach to music, and there are some fine examples here.
]]>One Minneapolis lawyer’s neo-Nazi record label, and the fight to shut it downhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/one-minneapolis-lawyers-neo-nazi-record-label-and-the-fight-to-shut-it-down/
Sun, 26 Nov 2017 16:17:30 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13850One Minneapolis lawyer’s neo-Nazi record label, and the fight to shut it down
More takedowns like this, please. See also: Doug Moore of Pyrrhon picks apart the faulty logic in Matt Harvey of Exhumed’s recent defence of those who claim to be apolitical while profiting off hate speech.
]]>I’m not one for conspiracy theories…http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/im-not-one-for-conspiracy-theories/
Sun, 26 Nov 2017 09:58:48 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13833…I believe the wrongs of this world are much more banal than we often allow ourselves to accept.

At the same time, I can’t help but see a connection between Fianna Fáil’s no-confidence motion against the Tánaiste, in the midst of an important Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment, and the notion that their TDs represent this country’s most staunchly anti-choice political movement.

(Not that Fine Gael are any better, mind, as they’re two sides of the same coin, but how and ever.)

It’s also nearly farcical that the excuse for ‘Why now?’ amounts to ‘But her emails!’

Let me be clear: this is no defence of Frances Fitzgerald. She and others in Government have long been accused of involvement to varying degrees in the Garda scandal mess, so this stuff isn’t coming out of nowhere.

I simply find it curious that matters of such apparently grave import have come to a head right here, right now, in a fashion that threatens to sweep away questions for the future of this country that some with a vested interest in a phantom past would prefer not be considered.

Update 2017.11.28: Well, this didn’t age well. I still believe the above was a motivation for Fianna Fáil threatening to bring down the Government at such a critical juncture. But I have to admit that when it comes to right-wingers of their ilk, craven opportunism comes first: they smelt blood and they went in for the kill, damn the consequences.

So we’re back to where we were a week ago, except with a Government weakened by failure to do what was necessary and take the hit of its own accord. Alas, this country is run by fools.

]]>My Thumped review of Battle of the Sexeshttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/my-thumped-review-of-battle-of-the-sexes/
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 08:01:31 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13834My Thumped review of Battle of the Sexes
Plus a few words on George Clooney’s Suburbicon, which also opens tomorrow.
]]>The 100 greatest comedies of all time, according to BBC Culturehttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/the-100-greatest-comedies-of-all-time-according-to-bbc-culture/
Wed, 15 Nov 2017 16:05:14 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13806The 100 greatest comedies of all time, according to BBC Culture
I have quibbles with this list. Billy Wilder made funnier films than Some Like It Hot, for one, and in general the selection is top heavy with the kinds of films one might feel they ought to rate. But shuffle the deck, cutting out the Woody Allens (Annie Hall excepted, they’re simply not funny — I mean, besides the obvious), and maybe sequestering the early-20th-century works, and you’ve got yourself a decent pot luck.
]]>What Blade Runner is about, and the Narcissist Creator Razorhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/what-blade-runner-is-about-and-the-narcissist-creator-razor/
Wed, 15 Nov 2017 16:03:49 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13804What Blade Runner is about, and the Narcissist Creator Razor
Well, that’s one way of looking at it.
]]>My Letterboxd reviews for October 2017http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/my-letterboxd-reviews-for-october-2017/
Sun, 12 Nov 2017 21:36:54 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13793

October’s viewing was a mixed bag: a handful of cinema trips, one of them a press show (for Brawl in Cell Block 99, as previously linked); a few dips into Netflix and other streaming services; genres all over the place; and one classic rewatch that stands the test of time.

Went to this sight-unseen as part of the Anime House season at Dublin’s Light House, and was delightfully surprised. The quirky animation style may take some getting used to – think The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine crossed with Tex Avery – but the charming story (basically a string of episodes depicting a night on the town for a tangentially connected group of college grads) has familiar echoes of offbeat slice-of-life stories like Durarara!! and Toradora!, but also Scorsese’s After Hours and the loopier end of the ’80s American teen comedy spectrum.

Six years since I last saw this, really? Anyway, my opinion hasn’t changed: it’s one of my all-time favourites. And an appropriate choice both for the times we’re living, and the season that’s in it: there’s something so autumnal about this one, even though the timeline is really all over the place.

One of a slew of major ’90s movies that I’ve somehow never seen before, and it’s a doozy. Michael Douglas is incredible in the lead, fully understanding the mythos (or in this case, the ugly truth) of the put-upon white-collar husband and father in his odyssey across the sun-bleached city to see the wife and daughter who would rather he stayed away. That he’s often quite reasonable, and even likeable, in his righteous anger at ‘the system’ makes his more insidious characteristics and desires all the more chilling.

The film around him falls by comparison, as the narrative is pretty much trope city (down to the ‘last day on the job’ cop routine by Robert Duvall, though in fairness it’s kind of an in-joke that’s taken to its extreme). But it’s never less than thrilling, helped by a tangible sense of the oppressive dirty heat of a hot summer day in LA; only Spike Lee, of the big US director bunch, has captured a similar atmosphere in his films. Joel Schumacher really caught lightning in a bottle here.

And it still says a hell of a lot about US/western culture today, too, even if that wasn’t necessarily intended. Specifically, there is so much blatantly obvious social commentary in the film that it’s probably a stretch to tease out glossed-over points like Douglas’ character’s actions being ignored or dismissed because he’s white, or his ex-wife’s fears being discounted because she’s a woman. Yet they are there to read nonetheless.

There are two sides to the subject of this documentary. There’s the real, unvarnished Stefani Germanotta, the one who’s self-aware and comfortably imperfect and can just about manage her celebrity status without freaking out. And there’s Lady Gaga, rich-and-famous-lifestyle-living pop superstar, whose latest incarnation is as a real, unvarnished version of her. So it’s hard to know at first whether to trust what we’re getting. Maybe that’s just the way she wanted it, until not even half-way through, when the pain of her now-diagnosed fibromyalgia cuts through the artifice. Major props to her for not letting that obvious discomfort affect her resolute self-confidence in knowing herself as a performer, and what she needs to do her job. She’s a good egg, and better than this film, technically speaking.

Better than Prometheus, but about as unnecessary: a just-the-hits reboot, of a kind, with a modern CGI sheen yet with a meaner spirit that won’t take the franchise anywhere good. And for what it’s worth, Katherine Waterston should have been the star; instead, she has to make room for Michael Fassbender’s self-consciously bravura bullshit.

It would be some coincidence if this Charles Band production wasn’t an inspiration to the brain trust behind Deep Space Nine. It’s not just that Armin Shimerman and Mark Alaimo appear as quasi-prototypes of the characters they would make legendary just a few years later, when its vibrant sense of space station life feels foundational to the spirt of that show (and of Babylon 5, whose lead Claudia Christian also stars here). Yes, I took all of that from what’s essentially a budget Rocky or Bloodsport in space, with unfortunately near-fatal glacial pacing that belies its rich imagination — not to mention remarkable practical effects that blend early animatronics with a charming rubber-monster aesthetic (care of John Carl Buechler and the inimitable Screaming Mad George).

I’ll just say it: M Night Shyamalan did a much better job (glaring plot holes notwithstanding) with this what-a-twist thriller (and a found footage film and all, gasp!) than Denis Villeneuve with his similarly themed but profoundly mean-spirited Prisoners.

Points off for a dodgy scan of this 20th anniversary re-release, as seen at the Light House on Hallowe’en night. It’s a film that I’ve wanted to watch ever since it first came out but for whatever reason didn’t get to it till now. That’s probably for the best in retrospect, as greater familiarity with the cultural mores explored in Satoshi Kon’s rightfully regarded classic was needed.

]]>Musicophilia’s 1979: Post-Punk box sethttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/musicophilias-1979-post-punk-box-set/
Sat, 11 Nov 2017 15:34:11 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13788Musicophilia’s 1979: Post-Punk box set
An incredible collection, courtesy of the Musicophilia blog and streamable on Mixcloud. The proprietor also more recently posted a set of modern (2007-present) post-punk mixes. Perfect winter listening, both.
]]>On modern-day fascism and bad faithhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/on-modern-day-fascism-and-bad-faith/
Sat, 11 Nov 2017 15:01:24 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13786‘The accused can’t defend what he said, so switches the argument to one about his character’
An eight-year-old blog post on the impossibility of reasoning with those who hold their positions in bad faith: the racists and anti-choicers and the like who whinge about being on the wrong side of history in the making. But it’s even more relevant today, as upsetting as that is to accept.
]]>Jenny Odell: How to do nothinghttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/jenny-odell-how-to-do-nothing/
Thu, 09 Nov 2017 16:51:40 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13777Jenny Odell: How to do nothing
Do take the time to read these various but connected musings on the value of ‘nothingness’, of removal from the noise and bustle of life — and the demands of Work with a capital W — for deeper reflection, within and without, to exist. It’s cut with an endearing wit, as per her observation on birdwatching: “Actually, I’ve always found it weird that it’s called birdwatching, because half if not more of birdwatching is actually birdlistening. I personally think they should just rename it birdnoticing.”
]]>Bandcamp Daily surveys SKiN Graft Recordshttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/bandcamp-daily-surveys-skin-graft-records/
Mon, 06 Nov 2017 13:50:52 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13764Twenty-Five Years of the Brain-Melting Sounds of SKiN Graft Records
This one covers all the bases.
]]>Enlarged Heart Radio 20http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/enlarged-heart-radio-20/
http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/enlarged-heart-radio-20/#commentsSun, 05 Nov 2017 20:11:53 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13755

It’s been a while. Enlarged Heart Radio returns with episode 20, a riff-heavy selection for these cold winter nights.

]]>http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/enlarged-heart-radio-20/feed/1Monthnotes for October 2017http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/monthnotes-for-october-2017/
Sun, 05 Nov 2017 09:42:38 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13747I should be writing about October, but since the first of November has passed, I must note that it’s 16 years since I started this blog. It really doesn’t feel that long; a decade at most. I suppose it’s true what they say about time seeming to go by faster as one grows older.

Anyway, I don’t really have much to say about this anniversary other than I’m glad I picked things up again this year, even in the piecemeal fashion that I have. It’s good to carve out a space for oneself in the increasingly walled garden of the web.

On to other things. October was quiet on the work front, just the usual with some added administrivia, invoicing and doing my taxes and whatnot. Just the one film reviewed, S Craig Zahler’s intense Brawl in Cell Block 99. This guy hasn’t been able to make it to press screenings over the last few weeks for various mundane reasons.

I did, however, bookend the month with two films as part of the Light House’s Anime House strand. You can find my (very) brief thoughts on The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl and Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue on Letterboxd (or when I compile my month’s movie musings on here shortly).

Bee and I gave up on Star Trek: Discovery after episode five, or four. I don’t remember. I don’t get the point of hate-watching a series; a movie, sure, in the right context, but making a weekly appointment to watch something you know isn’t getting any better just seems masochistic. Besides, I’ve found a much more satisfying show on Netflix in the shape of Zoo, which I think I’ll write about in more depth at a later point.

What else? I’ve tweeted before about using Duolingo but haven’t gone into any detail on here. So here’s the detail. I started using the app this past summer, to learn some Japanese and re-learn French (which I did at school, and not as well as I could have… that’s another story). Just a few minutes a day, for 10XP in each. Any more than that and I knew it would become a chore. I also had a feeling that I’d pick things up easier from just a small bit of exposure each day, letting the minor repetition aid understanding and absorption. And that certainly seems to be the case.

As I write this (on the morning of 5 November) I’ve got a 167-day streak going in both (to be fair, I’ve used my credits to pay for a handful of streak freezes for those days I couldn’t find the time or the energy).

According to the app, I’m now 40% fluent in French, which is very much an overstatement. No such indication for Japanese, due to the way it’s been implemented in the app so far, though I did pick up the hiragana and katakana fairly quickly (I did use another flashcard-style app to help with that).

Could I have a conversation in both? Not quite, I don’t feel I’m at that level. The main thing is that I’m enjoying the learning process at my own pace, even adapting with my own aids when things get frustrating at times (and they do, particularly with the lengthier Japanese phrases). Please don’t consider this a review, it’s just a brief account of my own experience, but I’d recommend it to the curious.

]]>NYT: Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Agehttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/nyt-losing-it-in-the-anti-dieting-age/
Sun, 05 Nov 2017 08:58:34 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13744Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Age
It’s only to an extent, but I can identify with this; I don’t care so much about how others perceive me, but I know I would feel better, holistically, if I can get my head right. And for me, managing what I eat really is all in the head.
]]>This New Data Will Make You Rethink How You Write Headlineshttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/this-new-data-will-make-you-rethink-how-you-write-headlines/
Sun, 05 Nov 2017 08:56:35 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13742This New Data Will Make You Rethink How You Write Headlines
It’s revealing to see the data behind this stuff, but also saddening to know that craft and wit take second place to audience-bating cliché. We are — as a whole — predicable, simple-minded folk, aren’t we?
]]>Charlize Theron Is Not Here To Make Friendshttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/charlize-theron-is-not-here-to-make-friends/
Thu, 02 Nov 2017 14:04:30 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13735Charlize Theron Is Not Here To Make Friends
Here’s a good essay from over the summer about an underrated actor, and person, that should get a re-up in this ‘post-Weinstein world’. It highlights how much the system is set against women who try to buck it (and how much it goes out of its way to conform to men who do the same, or worse).
]]>New Directions in Saxhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/11/new-directions-in-sax/
Thu, 02 Nov 2017 09:09:09 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13733New Directions in Sax
Great recommendations for avant, experimental and heavy jazz here.
]]>The Atlantic: How Checkers Was Solvedhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/the-atlantic-how-checkers-was-solved/
Tue, 31 Oct 2017 08:14:36 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13729How Checkers Was Solved
“For Tinsley, the spiritualist, the metaphor of checkers as a well without end was both poetic and true. But Schaeffer, the engineer, knew that no well is bottomless. And humans will always sound the depth.”
]]>What words were first used in print in your year of birth?http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/what-words-were-first-used-in-print-in-your-year-of-birth/
Mon, 30 Oct 2017 11:01:39 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13724What words were first used in print in your year of birth?
Merriam-Webster’s Time Traveler has the answer (at least for North America). I lucked out with ‘air guitar’.
]]>NYT: How Sanrio Makes Anti-Capitalism Adorable, and Profitablehttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/nyt-how-sanrio-makes-anti-capitalism-adorable-and-profitable/
Mon, 30 Oct 2017 11:00:51 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13722How Sanrio Makes Anti-Capitalism Adorable, and Profitable
Aggretsuko (who is pretty funny, as it happens) represents part of a new wave for the people behind Hello Kitty, with characters that are “more in sync with the ambivalent humor of memes or the antihero characters of prestige television”. Like an egg yolk with ennui.
]]>The Guardian on ‘the age of banter’http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/the-guardian-on-the-age-of-banter/
Sun, 29 Oct 2017 08:20:59 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13715The age of banter
When you combine the refusal to take anything seriously with the refusal to take responsibility, this is what you get.
]]>Black holes could delete the Universe, apparentlyhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/black-holes-could-delete-the-universe-apparently/
Sat, 28 Oct 2017 12:20:21 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13712

Black holes could delete the Universe, apparently. But they’re also the ultimate hard drive. My head is spinning. [c/o Kottke.org]

]]>Aphex Twin speaks to former Korg engineer Tatsuya Takahashihttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/aphex-twin-speaks-to-former-korg-engineer-tatsuya-takahashi/
Sat, 28 Oct 2017 09:50:21 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13710Aphex Twin speaks to former Korg engineer Tatsuya Takahashi
Two electronic music nerds, geeking out over the artistic possibilities of hardware. See also: CDM takes a peek at Aphex Twin’s use of trackers.
]]>Deadpan: How Frank Deford Helped Pro Wrestling Journalism Become Very Realhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/deadpan-how-frank-deford-helped-pro-wrestling-journalism-become-very-real/
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 13:37:28 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13704How Frank Deford Helped Pro Wrestling Journalism Become Very Real
On a writer who understood wrestling as something greater than a mere ‘fake sport’.
]]>On Hate, Love, Live Wrestling, and Kevin Owenshttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/on-hate-love-live-wrestling-and-kevin-owens/
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 13:33:55 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13702“I Could Do This Forever”: On Hate, Love, Live Wrestling, and Kevin Owens
It’s a rare modern wrestler that inspires such emotions.
]]>The Outline: The people GoFundMe leaves behindhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/the-outline-the-people-gofundme-leaves-behind/
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 08:35:37 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13700The people GoFundMe leaves behind
“More than 90 percent of GoFundMe campaigns never meet their goal.” And for those who are successful, it’s as much a matter of luck as careful planning — even more so for those raising crisis funds, to pay for medical bills and the like.
]]>The Meat Puppets live on Phoenix local TV in 1985http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/the-meat-puppets-live-on-phoenix-local-tv-in-1985/
Mon, 23 Oct 2017 11:30:26 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13695

The Meat Puppets play ‘Swimming Ground’ and ‘Maiden’s Milk’ on Phoenix local TV while promoting Up On The Sun. Still astounded at how fast Cris plays those bass melodies.

]]>Spin on ‘an ill-fated experiment’ in editorial at MTV Newshttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/spin-on-an-ill-fated-experiment-in-editorial-at-mtv-news/
Mon, 23 Oct 2017 11:28:54 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13693MTV News: The Good, the Bad, and the Contradictions of an Ill-Fated Experiment
The ‘pivot to video’ is just a shiny new distraction from the real problem of advertisers’ quest for a holy grail metric that doesn’t exist. Also, the ‘music business’ is bullshit.
]]>New Scientist: Artificially intelligent painters invent new styles of arthttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/new-scientist-artificially-intelligent-painters-invent-new-styles-of-art/
Mon, 23 Oct 2017 11:28:12 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13691New Scientist: Artificially intelligent painters invent new styles of art
Even the examples that look like simple remixes of extant art are striking.
]]>The Apprehension Enginehttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/the-apprehension-engine/
Sun, 22 Oct 2017 15:16:27 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13685

Mark Korven composed the soundtrack of The Witch, and created that film’s eerie music with the Apprehension Engine, a device he envisaged along the lines of an acoustic Author & Punisher. [c/o Lowbrowculture]

]]>A Twitter thread on the origins of ‘BBC English’http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/a-twitter-thread-on-the-origins-of-bbc-english/
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 10:47:51 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13681A Twitter thread on the origins of ‘BBC English’
And that’s why we (English-speakers in Ireland and Britain alike) say ‘garage’ to rhyme with ‘carriage’ rather than ‘barrage’. See also: the related concept of Received Pronunciation.
]]>The Guardian asks: can a bad title sink a film?http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/the-guardian-asks-can-a-bad-title-sink-a-film/
Fri, 20 Oct 2017 17:52:57 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13676Can a bad title sink a film?
Established franchises are largely immune. But for most, it certainly doesn’t help.
]]>My Thumped review of Brawl in Cell Block 99http://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/my-thumped-review-of-brawl-in-cell-block-99/
Fri, 20 Oct 2017 08:30:23 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13670My Thumped review of Brawl in Cell Block 99
Vince Vaughn’s strongest role to date here in S Craig Zahler’s ambitious follow—up to Bone Tomahawk, and an avowed exploitation tribute that prompts conflicting feelings.
]]>Deadspin: Japan’s Most Ridiculous Wrestling Promotion Hits Somewhere Near The Big Timehttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/deadspin-japans-most-ridiculous-wrestling-promotion-hits-somewhere-near-the-big-time/
Thu, 19 Oct 2017 17:35:59 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13665Deadspin: Japan’s Most Ridiculous Wrestling Promotion Hits Somewhere Near The Big Time
David Bixenspan on DDT, whose streaming service I still need to give a shot, as soon as I’ve caught up on all the New Japan stuff I’ve missed over the past few months.
]]>I Hate Wrestling Nazis: White Supremacy and Indie Wrestlinghttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/i-hate-wrestling-nazis-white-supremacy-and-indie-wrestling/
Thu, 19 Oct 2017 17:34:37 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13663I Hate Wrestling Nazis: White Supremacy and Indie Wrestling
And I repeat: I can’t believe we’re talking about actual fucking Nazis in 2017, but here we are.
]]>Wired: In a Fake Fact Era, Schools Teach the ABCs of News Literacyhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/wired-in-a-fake-fact-era-schools-teach-the-abcs-of-news-literacy/
Thu, 19 Oct 2017 10:43:04 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13661In a Fake Fact Era, Schools Teach the ABCs of News Literacy
It’s a profile of one class in one school in the US, but it’s not hard to universalise. Media literacy should be on every school curriculum.
]]>The church hall that became contemporary music’s hottest venuehttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/the-church-hall-that-became-contemporary-musics-hottest-venue/
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 10:14:15 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13655The church hall that became contemporary music’s hottest venue
The Guardian on Eamonn Quinn and his Louth Contemporary Music Society, which has brought some of the biggest names in new music right here to Dundalk. This summer he hosted the Silenzio festival, which I sadly missed despite the performances being a short walk from my house. Meanwhile, I can’t get over the notion of Philip Glass having a curry at a restaurant I pass by on my bicycle a few times a week.
]]>Medieval fantasy city generatorhttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/medieval-fantasy-city-generator/
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 10:13:42 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13653Medieval fantasy city generator
I have no practical application for this, but find it fascinating nevertheless.
]]>A History Of Violencehttp://macdaraconroy.com/2017/10/a-history-of-violence/
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 09:39:53 +0000http://macdaraconroy.com/?p=13650A History Of Violence
Tom Breihan delves into the art of the action movie, year by year since the birth of the genre (as he identifies it), in this superb AV Club column. [c/o Kottke.org]
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